David Williams' Class-size Increasing, Job-killing Budget Proposal

Senate Education Chair Ken Winters

Supports Cuts to Education

..as do Alice Forgy Kerr and Jared Carpenter

Well it's springtime in Frankfort and the pitchers and catchers have reported for duty. Senate President David Williams is pitching bull from his pen. He even used the words "truth" and "responsible" in the same sentence, referring to the knuckleball his team is prepared to throw at teachers and other public employees.

You see, Williams discovered that we have a budget problem in Kentucky and he recently suggested somebody ought to study it while he introduces his job-killing solution for the Commonwealth.

Despite having been in the Frankfort big league for 20+ years and ducking multiple opportunities to lead the repairing of Kentucky's long-broken tax structure, the gubernatorial hopeful now seems to think that firing a bunch of teachers is the solution to Kentucky's fiscal problems.

I hope Tom Shelton and the Council for Better Education are warming up in their bullpen.

The fact is that the repeated affirmative actions of the legislature to erode school funding and starve Senate Bill 1 implementation is irresponsible and a far cry from carrying out the legislature's constitutional duty.

This from the Herald-Leader:

State Senate Approves Spending Cuts

Despite Protests from Educators

Ignoring the protests of some Kentucky educators, the Senate passed a measure late Wednesday that would cut spending across state government to shore up the state's Medicaid budget.

The state Senate voted 24-12 to approve its own version of House Bill 305 after a more than hour-long debate. The move sets the stage for a high-stakes standoff between the Republican-led Senate and the Democratic-led House during the waning days of the legislative session.

The Senate version of the bill includes a 0.525 percent spending cut in the first year and 2.26 percent cuts in the second year of the budget, which begins July 1. Postsecondary and K-12 education would not be cut in the first year but would face reductions in the second year. That cut would be about 1.3 percent for K-12 education...

Brad Hughes, a spokesman for the Kentucky School Board Association, said even cuts to the state Department of Education could have dramatic and disastrous effects on the implementation of a state testing overhaul that lawmakers approved two years ago.

"Our folks as well as anyone know that times are horrendously tough," Hughes said. "But I don't know of any other state that is launching a major education and teaching initiative at the same time that you are cutting millions of dollars from school spending."

Senators who voted in favor of the measure include: Bowen, Buford, Carpenter, Denton, Gibson, Givens, Harris, Higdon, Hornback, Jenson, Jones, Kerr, Leeper McGaha, Pendleton, Schickel, Seum, Katie Stine, Stivers, Thayer, Westwood, Williams, Wilson and Senate Education Chair Ken Winters.

This from C-J:

The Senate's action sets the stage for a conflict that is likely to remain unresolved until the eleventh hour of the waning legislative session.

That's because the Democrat-controlled House, which approved Beshear's approach in an 80-19 vote last month, cannot accept the Senate's version.

“I don't believe the House will want to cut education and further cut human services, and cut the court system and other things when there's a better alternative,” House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said earlier Wednesday. “It's a basic question of whether you want to overreact and take the simplistic approach of just adding more cuts to government.”

The state budget has already been cut eight times in a three year period due to the national recession - which was not caused by public employees.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday responded to the Senate vote by calculating the budget cuts by district - reported at KSBA.

The Kentucky Department of Education has released calculations of the impact of proposed SEEK funding cuts included in the Senate-adopted measure to address a projected Medicaid shortfall in the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday distributed his agency’s estimation of district-by-district cuts if House Bill 305 becomes law. That measure would cut spending by most state agencies and includes a $38.1 million reduction in SEEK.

That is on top of the previously announced $28.7 million SEEK cut because of a large-than-expected student enrollment this year and next. Overall, the latest figures are for a $66.8 million SEEK cut next fiscal year.

Although this information is preliminary and could change through the budget conference committee process, it may be helpful to you as you begin to plan for potential cuts reduct next year’s SEEK budget,” Holliday said in a Thursday afternoon e-mail to superintendents and other education leaders.

Here are the Department of Education’s SEEK cut calculations:

DISTRICT/ORIGINAL SEEK CUT/ESTIMATED HB 305 CUT/ ESTIMATED TOTAL CUT

• Adair County $131,512 $176,186 $307,698
• Allen County 158,395 209,988 368,383
• Anchorage Ind. 5,236 9,561 14,797
• Anderson County 223,475 225,050 448,525
• Ashland Ind. 148,730 200,173 348,904
• Augusta Ind. 16,305 20,778 37,083
• Ballard County 67,534 86,075 153,608
• Barbourville Ind. 36,631 45,966 82,597
• Bardstown Ind. 137,040 146,773 283,813
• Barren County 336,130 311,311 647,441
• Bath County 111,902 145,350 257,252
• Beechwood Ind. 34,549 50,349 84,897
• Bell County 168,671 221,043 389,713
• Bellevue Ind. 23,411 35,776 59,187
• Berea Ind. 71,407 82,756 154,162
• Boone County 508,712 802,249 1,310,961
• Bourbon County 106,146 151,392 257,538
• Bowling Green Ind. 185,904 251,639 437,544
• Boyd County 144,316 191,444 335,760
• Boyle County 107,283 154,425 261,708
• Bracken County 66,033 87,385 153,418
• Breathitt County 128,093 170,192 298,285
• Breckinridge County 122,767 170,206 292,973
• Bullitt County 650,276 696,167 1,346,443
• Burgin Ind. 12,644 19,863 32,508
• Butler County 122,455 158,669 281,124
• Caldwell County 102,232 136,071 238,303
• Calloway County 109,272 164,730 274,002
• Campbell County 109,830 200,537 310,367
• Campbellsville Ind. 50,095 71,028 121,123
• Carlisle County 41,938 56,091 98,029
• Carroll County 74,096 106,773 180,869
• Carter County 273,373 354,509 627,882
• Casey County 130,839 174,405 305,244
• Caverna Ind. 35,002 50,240 85,243
• Christian County 424,442 584,772 1,009,214
• Clark County 183,156 275,554 458,711
• Clay County 203,352 263,119 466,471
• Clinton County 86,523 115,793 202,316
• Cloverport Ind. 21,331 27,064 48,395
• Corbin Ind. 216,407 181,039 397,446
• Covington Ind. 143,848 216,056 359,904
• Crittenden County 61,465 82,894 144,359
• Cumberland County 53,621 66,878 120,499
• Danville Ind. 63,108 94,575 157,684
• Daviess County 465,301 668,282 1,133,583
• Dawson Springs Ind. 44,276 55,633 99,909
• Dayton Ind. 49,127 64,272 113,398
• East Bernstadt Ind. 32,026 39,854 71,880
• Edmonson County 103,602 138,717 242,319
• Elizabethtown Ind. 128,298 151,450 279,748
• Elliott County 67,289 86,577 153,866
• Eminence Ind. 32,686 42,486 75,172
• Erlanger-Elsmere Ind. 84,169 120,191 204,360
• Estill County 140,632 181,741 322,373
• Fairview Ind. 44,427 57,316 101,743
• Fayette County 677,373 1,236,808 1,914,181
• Fleming County 127,905 168,793 296,699
• Floyd County 306,487 420,167 726,654
• Fort Thomas Ind. 76,849 111,475 188,323
• Frankfort Ind. 31,464 42,875 74,339
• Franklin County 199,841 292,223 492,064
• Fulton County 23,557 33,852 57,409
• Fulton Ind. 20,551 27,459 48,010
• Gallatin County 85,686 106,839 192,524
• Garrard County 175,540 172,797 348,338
• Glasgow Ind. 104,610 128,159 232,769
• Grant County 285,718 261,518 547,236
• Graves County 221,206 298,184 519,390
• Grayson County 207,822 279,355 487,177
• Green County 107,316 126,749 234,065
• Greenup County 144,138 193,434 337,572
• Hancock County 79,827 109,022 188,849
• Hardin County 707,100 968,170 1,675,270
• Harlan County 203,227 275,681 478,908
• Harlan Ind. 45,651 57,709 103,359
• Harrison County 143,778 196,355 340,132
• Hart County 122,888 164,853 287,741
• Hazard Ind. 48,413 63,076 111,489
• Henderson County 283,601 405,302 688,903
• Henry County 124,218 151,303 275,521
• Hickman County 35,397 49,498 84,894
• Hopkins County 313,227 445,263 758,490
• Jackson County 137,880 179,508 317,388
• Jackson Ind. 23,788 29,706 53,494
• Jefferson County 2,354,818 4,194,236 6,549,054
• Jenkins Ind. 35,023 44,930 79,953
• Jessamine County 325,802 398,269 724,071
• Johnson County 218,062 285,000 503,062
• Kenton County 515,707 688,013 1,203,720
• Knott County 95,810 139,877 235,686
• Knox County 258,538 341,368 599,906
• LaRue County 127,175 169,665 296,839
• Laurel County 655,251 626,097 1,281,348
• Lawrence County 116,730 160,310 277,041
• Lee County 55,268 77,093 132,361
• Leslie County 92,170 127,053 219,223
• Letcher County 166,537 228,962 395,499
• Lewis County 126,473 166,536 293,009
• Lincoln County 221,826 294,802 516,628
• Livingston County 41,392 66,156 107,548
• Logan County 170,761 227,286 398,048
• Ludlow Ind. 43,702 58,421 102,123
• Lyon County 14,353 26,207 40,561
• Madison County 629,895 649,736 1,279,631
• Magoffin County 129,129 170,540 299,669
• Marion County 152,275 209,063 361,338
• Marshall County 175,727 254,107 429,834
• Martin County 101,471 138,434 239,906
• Mason County 117,995 170,188 288,183
• Mayfield Ind. 85,994 112,365 198,359
• McCracken County 249,655 347,312 596,966
• McCreary County 188,720 243,550 432,271
• McLean County 81,403 109,846 191,249
• Meade County 309,719 368,810 678,529
• Menifee County 68,178 87,207 155,384
• Mercer County 188,451 193,054 381,505
• Metcalfe County 83,788 111,703 195,492
• Middlesboro Ind. 69,887 95,640 165,527
• Monroe County 111,211 144,338 255,548
• Montgomery County 331,841 314,043 645,885
• Monticello Ind. 56,693 71,168 127,862
• Morgan County 120,112 154,818 274,930
• Muhlenberg County 239,785 325,484 565,270
• Murray Ind. 90,240 82,212 172,452
• Nelson County 239,315 257,794 497,109
• Newport Ind. 70,378 102,919 173,297
• Nicholas County 72,232 84,641 156,873
• Ohio County 204,759 270,998 475,757
• Oldham County 552,621 610,287 1,162,908
• Owen County 97,191 131,750 228,942
• Owensboro Ind. 198,740 272,396 471,136
• Owsley County 50,631 65,725 116,356
• Paducah Ind. 131,526 169,555 301,081
• Paintsville Ind. 32,839 44,444 77,283
• Paris Ind. 35,963 47,851 83,814
• Pendleton County 200,902 183,450 384,352
• Perry County 189,452 270,763 460,215
• Pike County 480,437 644,602 1,125,039
• Pikeville Ind. 42,327 60,870 103,197
• Pineville Ind. 39,345 43,854 83,200
• Powell County 141,344 184,454 325,797
• Pulaski County 340,939 480,615 821,554
• Raceland Ind. 57,865 72,983 130,848
• Robertson County 22,439 29,266 51,704
• Rockcastle County 182,983 237,078 420,061
• Rowan County 164,079 207,835 371,914
• Russell County 154,180 193,808 347,988
• Russell Ind. 95,900 131,129 227,029
• Russellville Ind. 63,532 75,317 138,849
• Science Hill Ind. 29,430 33,193 62,623
• Scott County 374,228 426,914 801,142
• Shelby County 329,284 379,357 708,641
• Silver Grove Ind. 9,379 13,546 22,925
• Simpson County 126,224 178,131 304,355
• Somerset Ind. 46,960 71,065 118,025
• Southgate Ind. 6,603 10,490 17,094
• Spencer County 161,080 163,939 325,020
• Taylor County 126,343 170,189 296,532
• Todd County 110,574 147,840 158,414
• Trigg County 80,036 115,444 195,480
• Trimble County 63,713 87,486 151,199
• Union County 106,558 148,618 255,176
• Walton Verona Ind. 67,392 91,850 159,242
• Warren County 612,894 702,254 1,315,148
• Washington County 88,474 111,975 200,450
• Wayne County 126,369 172,134 298,502
• Webster County 106,337 144,190 250,526
• West Point Ind. 5,891 7,855 13,746
• Whitley County 274,419 356,071 630,490
• Williamsburg Ind. 40,617 53,245 93,862
• Williamstown Ind. 58,091 65,656 123,747
• Wolfe County 81,192 106,309 187,501
• Woodford County 102,662 170,835 273,497
• TOTALS $28,680,616 $38,122,413 $66,803,029
  
• Additional Reductions: National Board Certified Teachers $41,623.00
• State-Run Vocational Schools $352,497.00
• Vocational Transportation $36,582.00
• Total HB 305 Reductions $38,553,115.00